Mirzeth opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was still in hell, doing normal demon things. Getting a short-lived thrill out of watching those suffering, wandering the fiery paths, and generally feeling bored. He needed a change of scenery. Maybe someone would summon him, but mess up so he'd be free. He breathed a sigh and then decided to seek out one of his friends.

As he made his way toward one of his friend's usual haunts, he spied some lesser demons gossiping. They spoke of a place the humans had built to educate other humans on how to kill demons. He stifled a laugh at this notion, as demons couldn't be killed, only banished. However, he couldn't trust the humans to be aware of this. They were notoriously short-sighted in these matters.

He stopped walking when he reached his target area and rested a hand on his hip. He spent a moment to look around. Towers of stone surrounded the area in a circle, reminiscent of a human structure. Deep red lights emanated from holes in the ground, and they cast a somewhat ominous tone on the area. From within these holes, a sulfuric stench plumed up and he could hear the familiar sound of bubbling lava. Really, he didn't understand why his friend liked being here so much. It was just like any other place in hell. He was only left waiting for a short while longer before he had company.

A demoness, Sarzun, stepped into the circle, though paused when she saw she wasn't alone. Her skin and horns were an ashen black color, and her horns had a rather appealing curved shape. She had a lovely face, but her solid white eyes and sharp fangs were somewhat unsettling. Silvery locks framed her face and reached her lower back, and they moved as if they were lighter than air.

"Oh, hey! Didn't expect to see ya around here!" she called out with a laugh. Her voice was rather melodic and almost hypnotic to listen to despite her way of speaking being unrefined.

Mirzeth dropped his hand from his hip. "I just got bored," he stated bluntly. He reached up to brush dark hair out of his eyes. "What're you doing?"

"'Course you got bored. I was takin' a walk since I finished messin' with these humans. You wouldn't believe how skeptic some people can be. Took 'em two weeks to figure out it wasn't just some weird-ass burglars scrawlin' shit on their mirrors. But it was fun when they started gettin' scared," she explained.

Mirzeth snickered. "You gonna go back there? Careful, they might call a priest on you," he mockingly warned. This elicited a cackle from Sarzun.

"Fuck yeah, I'm goin' back. I ain't scared of some crusty old man who can't even trip without crackin' a bone. Just gotta get 'em scared and their prayers won't help anymore," she remarked with confidence.

"Y'know what they think they have now? Demon killers. You might run into one of them," he commented.

Sarzun's eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously? They think they can kill us? That's sad and hilarious at the same time."

"Mhm. Heard it from some gossip on the way here. They've apparently got a place where they teach other humans how to kill demons. Sounds like a bunch of nonsense, huh?"

"Shit, I really wanna check that out now. Maybe I should possess some poor fucker and try to find it. Whaddya think about joining me on that?"

"Sounds fun, sure." Just then, Mirzeth heard an otherworldly voice call his name. He looked up and grinned. "Well, guess I'm being summoned. Maybe I'll be able to get out. I'll seeya later, Sarza." He watched her wave goodbye before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke to respond to the summoning.

Upon appearing on the other end, Mirzeth glanced around. He was in a dark room lit by candles, and there was a binding circle drawn around him. As he inspected the runes on the circle, the human in the room started to speak.

"Holy shit, it actually worked!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Without looking up from his inspection, Mirzeth responded, "Yes, yes. What do you want, hmm? Power? Money? Love?"

The human spoke again, oblivious to a certain thing on the circle that had caught the demon's eye, "I've always been scared of death, so I want to live forever."

This actually caused Mirzeth to laugh aloud. "Scared of death, huh? Well, you seem to have made a mistake here," he pointed out. He gestured to a small break in the circle and looked up to the human to watch the color drain from his face. Mirzeth stepped out of the circle and approached him. "Now, what shall I do with you before I go out and find something interesting? Should I make it quick? Should I have some fun with it?" he questioned.

Of course, the human cowered from him and backed away. "Please, please don't kill me! I'll do anything you want!" he pleaded.

Mirzeth seemed to consider this, then spoke, "Ah, fine. Age will take you soon, and it would be fun to have some poor fool indebted to me. Use what little time you have left for whatever you want. Or don't, since your life is meaningless and you'll never have a true impact on the world." He then walked out of the room, leaving the human stunned.

Deciding to explore the house, he started to check doors. It was a rather basic human house with all the human things. A bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, weapon room. Mirzeth stopped at the weapon room and cringed slightly. It absolutely reeked to him, so he reached up to cover his nose. He stepped inside the room to investigate. The weapons inside the cases seemed to be of a holier nature, which puzzled him. Why would a human with holy weapons summon a demon? Soon after he wondered that, a sharp pain permeated from his chest. He looked down to see a blade sticking out of him with his black, demonic blood stuck to the metal. It only took a moment for a horrible, stinging pain to follow. He grit his teeth.

The human spoke behind him, "I only summoned you to kill you. You're a vile creature that deserves to die." He twisted the blade and pulled it farther down, widening the wound.

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Mirzeth choked back a cry of pain. He really wasn't used to getting attacked, so this was a new experience for him. "What if I told you that you can't kill a demon?" This comment only earned him another twist of the blade. "Fucking bitch!" he hissed.

"If you bleed, I can kill you," the human shot back. He yanked the blade out to observe the dark liquid on it. "You look like you've bled quite a bit," he mused with a chuckle.

Mirzeth had collapsed as soon as the blade was pulled out, and more of his blood spilled onto the floor. He pushed himself up and swiveled to face his attacker. "You got a thing for blood? That's pretty vile," he mocked. He felt his head spinning, but he knew it wasn't from the blood loss.

The human growled and stabbed him again, this time targeting his stomach. "Go back to hell where you belong."

Mirzeth flinched when his stomach was impaled. "You're really intent on pissing me off, huh? Do you really wanna do that when I decided to spare you?" He paused as he thought back to what he'd heard of. "Hey, are you with that whole thing where humans teach other humans to kill demons? I wanted to check that out."

The human hesitated at that question. "Of course I am, but why does that matter to a demon that's about to die?" He then chuckled. "Killing a powerful demon like you will definitely get the headmaster's eyes on me."

Mirzeth laughed. "Oh, you poor mistaken human." He then stood up and tried his best to ignore the pain that flared up from moving the sword. "You're not gonna live to see tomorrow." He reached up and wrapped his hands around the human's neck tightly.

As expected, the human let go of his sword and threw his own hands up frantically to attempt to move Mirzeth's hands. He spat out choking curses at the demon as his life slipped away from him. The demon watched with glee as the human's face turned red, then purple. Tears streamed down from his eyes and saliva dripped down his chin as his words left him and his mouth stayed open. He desperately wanted to cling to life, but in the end, it was futile. His body went limp and hung from Mirzeth's grip.

Letting the body go, Mirzeth then looked down at the blade that was lodged into his stomach. He took a hold of the handle and started to ease the blade out. A grimace formed on his face from the pain of it. Once it was out, he simply dropped the sword. He stepped over the human's body and walked into the bathroom. The mirror in there showed the reflection of a demon with messy black hair, pale skin and horns, pure black eyes, and pointed ears. His horns were large and curled like a goat's, indicative of his powerful nature. He let out a sigh and messed with his hair. His skin tone was pretty human-like, but everything else about him screamed "demon". He would need to disguise himself.

Mirzeth closed his eyes and said an incantation. Swirls of black smoke circled his body and surrounded it. As his reflection was obscured, his appearance changed to deceive mortal eyes. Once the smoke cleared, he looked at his reflection again. His horns had vanished from view and his hair fell accordingly to cover where they had once been. His ears had lost their point and were now shaped like a human's. His eyes were now a sharp, icy blue. He smirked and left the room to change his clothes.

He entered the human's bedroom and checked the closet for clothing. He picked out a simple white t-shirt and jeans for now and set them on the bed. He slid off his slightly ruined clothes and changed into the fresh ones. "Guess I should bring more than one set," he muttered to himself. He then prepared to leave.

Mirzeth stepped out of the house and glanced around. The house was surrounded by trees and a nearly-deserted road could barely be seen in the distance. Vivid leaves greeted the eye with warm tones, and the wind rustled them. Sunlight filtered through the canopy and cast uneven, shifting rays upon the ground. A cool breeze drifted through the trees, chilling the demon who was used to the sweltering heat of hell. 

As Mirzeth walked toward the road, fallen leaves crunched. He shielded his eyes from the sparse patches of sunlight, as they weren't used to the brightness. Since he definitely wasn't in a human town, he decided the best course of action would be to find one. Maybe he could wait for someone to pass on the road, or he could walk along it until he found a sign. He opted for the latter option. After all, someone could pass while he was walking.

He took the time to plan what he would do while he walked. If Sarzun was coming, he would have to find her somehow. That probably wouldn't prove too difficult since he was familiar with her magical signature. Next, there was the matter of finding this "demon-killing" place. Perhaps he could go by word of mouth, or search libraries for information on it. The search was sure to be a pain in the ass, but he had all the time in the world. Then, he remembered that humans often had strange names. He'd have to remember one of the ones he'd heard before if he were to truly blend in.

An indeterminate amount of time passed as he walked, though he didn't tire like a human would. He looked up, his eyes meeting a road sign. Seemed like he was about five miles away from a town, that would be a good place to start. He could easily zone out again and get there in no time at all. In the distance though, he heard an approaching car. The car passed him, only to stop and pull to the side of the road farther up. "What a hassle," he muttered, then quickened his pace to reach the car before the driver lost interest. When he did, the driver rolled down the passenger side window.

"You need a lift?" She called from within the car, looking out the window to see who was there. The woman appeared to be a younger human and seemed to be chewing something. Some alternative music was playing quietly, probably turned down so she could talk to him.

"Yeah, I just need to get to the next town. Are you alright with taking me along?" He offered a smile to the woman.

She smiled back. "Sure. I'm heading that way anyways, so just get in." The locks of the car clicked.

Mirzeth opened the passenger door and got in, buckling his seatbelt and closing the door behind himself. He shifted the duffel bag he'd stuffed with clothes and necessities onto his lap. Setting his arms on top of it, he rested his head and closed his eyes.

The woman locked the car again and got back on the road. "What brings you to this area, anyway? Not many people bother to travel out here. Oh, I'm Cynthia by the way. How about you?"

Mirzeth raised his head again and looked over. "My name's Denzel. I'm just passing through here to find something."

Cynthia nodded. "What are you looking for? I know this area pretty well, so I might be able to point you in the right direction."

"You'll probably think I'm weird, but I'm trying to find a school for exorcists. I haven't been able to find any information about it elsewhere, so I've just been traveling around for a while." He rested his head in his hand. "I'm starting to think that it doesn't even exist, actually."

She snickered. "Oh, those schools? Full of crazies if you ask me, but I'm sure that you have your reasons to seek them out." She then paused. "Actually, I think there's a person from one of them in town right now. They have this 'possession' case, but I think it's just the kid looking for attention. It's been the talk of the town for the past few days."

His eyes widened slightly. "Do you know where this exorcist is staying? I'd like to pay them a visit."

"Probably in a motel, there's one pretty close to that family's house. I could drop you off there, if you want me to."

He smiled. "That'd be great. If you don't mind, I'm gonna try to get some rest."